INDIA 0
lost to
IR IRAN 3 (Mohammad Ghaderi –23', Mohammad Sharifi – 80' & 90+1')
AIFF Media Team
MARGAO: A 10-man India lost 0-3 to a superior Iran to bow out of the AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Wednesday (September 21).
Courtesy the result, India finished on one point from three outings while Iran topped Group A with 7 points from three matches to march into the quarterfinals.
Nicolai made two changes to the starting XI – Lalengmawia and Ninthoi replacing Aniket Jhadav and Aman Chetri respectively. But miss passes in the midfield didn’t help the cause. The trapping at times was bad and the physically superior Iranians managed to win most of the second balls.
Even as both Teams started on a cautious note, Iran were able to increase manpower in the final zone. The first goal came in the 23rd minute -- a slippery Mohammad Ghaderi sneaking in between the two Central Defenders to blast it in after being fed by Amed Khodamoradi.
India’s sole chance in the first half came in the 17th minute. The rush of adrenalin forced Komal to go for glory after he had sped into the rival box. A back pass to Lalangmawia who was perfectly positioned to tap it in into a yawning goal could have given India the lead.
Changing over, Nicolai brought in his first substitution – Aniket coming in for Mohamad Rakip in the 46th minute itself. The first cross into the box came in the 49th minute but rival Goalkeeper Gholam Zadeh leapt above all to gather Ninthoi’s floater.
India suffered a jolt when they were down to 10-men -- Boris gave marching orders after receiving his second yellow card in the 55th minute.
Ten minutes later Lalengmawia was replaced by Aman, as Nicolai went all out for the equaliser. The third substitution came in the 69th minute when Narender was put in place of Sarif Khan.
Iran taking full advantage of their numerical superiority were dominating by then and had not Goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh came in between on a couple of occasions, the scoreline could have been wider.
A ten-man India, nevertheless, laboured hard. But as it in the first half, and even in the entire Championship, miss passes spoiled the counters. Iran looked composed with the support for each other in the midfield.
It eventually paid dividends as Iran scored from two penalties – Mohammad Sharifi converting a brace from the spot in the 82nd minute and then one in injury time (90+).
INDIA: Dheeraj Singh; Sanjeev Stalin, Sarif Khan (Narender – 69th), Jitendra Singh, Mohamad Rakip (Aniket Jhadav – 46th); Boris Singh (given marching orders in 55th minute), Suresh Singh (Captain), Amarjit Singh, Lalengmawia (Aman Chetri – 65th), Ninthoi, Komal Thattal.
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